


Home is Where the Heart is

by SpringFever



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Slow Burn, The Last of Us elements, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2020-12-09 16:06:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20997563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpringFever/pseuds/SpringFever
Summary: They never found them, the rest of their family, but they found each other again. Now they must cross the country for a safe haven.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own TWD. 
> 
> Note: I miss Bethyl's relationship on the show.
> 
> This story is also written on tumblr here: shairosemary.tumblr.com/post/188293175402/home-is-where-the-heart-is-prologue

It was quiet, all except for the rustle of the wind through the trees above and the shifting mass in her arms. They remained there, standing in silence while staring at the freshly turned graves.

Beth wondered what that meant for them now, about their family. They couldn’t risk anything now. They shouldn’t even try. It’s just them now. There was no one else to watch their backs.

She blinked away a new wave of tears, already exhausted from the ones before. She had promised herself not to cry anymore, yet here she was. But were these new tears of mourning? Or were they of fear? Fear of the unknown and narrow path that lay ahead of them? Far from their home. Far from the ones they call family . . .

It’s just them now. That’s all the family they need, now. Even though the others will forever remain in their thoughts and hearts.

Beth _ was _scared. But she was stronger now than she was two years before. He also made her stronger when it was just them after the prison. Now they just had to be strong for each other and their ward.


	2. Awake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth awakes from the hospital and finds familiar faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place in season 5 episode 4. Some of parts and conversations of the Grady arc will take place. After that, the story completely starys from cannon.

She came to with the sun filtering over her closed eyes and a constant ticking too loud for her sensitive ears, chasing away a dream she cannot recall. With a flutter of her eyes as she felt the pain in her foot, wrist and head, Beth opened her eyes. She rose gently, searching through her surroundings. A clock? A bed? Clean walls and no smell? Was this a dream? Or a dream within a dream? Where the heck was she?

Spotting a window to the outside, she rose, her head growing light, a feeling she pushed back as she stood, noting the tubes in her arm and grasping the IV pole, shuffling towards the window. Beth was not sure whether to feel relieved or not that the desecrated world beyond was the real world they lived in. The feeling of familiarity from this world, though broken and terrible, washed over her followed by a cold feeling of danger and unfamiliarity of the room and gown she wore. The weight of her situation falling hard on her shoulders like a boulder. 

Tick. Tick.

_ “I’m not gonna leave you!” _

Tick, tick.

_ "Go out to the road! I'll meet you there!" _

Tick, tick.

Beth’s heart lurched, panic grasping at it with a tight grasp.  _ Daryl _ , she thought.

Beth snapped her head all around. Her clothes were not there. Her weapons were not here. She was alone in a too clean room in a city that belonged to the dead, far away from her companion. She moved to the door, turning the knob. Locked. Locked and alone. Her panic grew and she pounded on the door with a fist. “Hey! Hello! Hey!” she called out. What was she doing? She didn’t know where she was, who these people are. She had no weapon and she had just alerted whoever is at the other side that she is awake.

She stopped and backed away, her hand feeling the cold of the steel bar and holding tight. Weapon. She needed a weapon.

Beth looked down at her arm, the needle in her vein feeding her from the IV. She pulled it out, careful not to rip it through her vein, and gripped the needle tightly in her hand. With her luck, her captors wouldn’t be hostile. She prayed that if it came to fighting that a needle to the eye will be enough for whoever would come to give her enough time to run.

She held her breath as the door opened, a woman with a police uniform and a tall man in a lab coat stepped in. 

“Everything is ok, ok?” the doctor’s voice soothed, his lips tilting up in the ghost of a friendly smile as he held his hands up in surrender.  _ Not a threat _ , Beth thought, eyes flickering between the two before landing on the officer’s who spoke right after him. “Put it down,” she commanded in a steely voice. “Drop it, right now.” Her eyes were hard, a familiar look that she had seen in Rick’s eyes. But unlike the steady caution and piercing look for danger, the woman’s eyes were cold and emotionless, completely flat like the unnatural organization of the room in the world they lived in. Beth felt it in her entire body in that instant as the woman placed a hand on her holster, the only weapon she could see between the two strangers. This woman was a threat.

Beth let the needle slip between her fingers, the woman raising her eyebrows in what Beth assumed would be her version of being pleased at her command being followed. 

The man dropped his hands, sliding them to the front pockets of his clean lab coat. “I’m Doctor Steven Edwards,” he introduced himself. He nodded at his companion, the woman leaning back to place her hands at the front of her belt. “This is Officer Dawn Lerner. How are you feeling?”

Beth's gaze flicked from the doctor to the officer and back. “Where am I?” she asked, her voice holding a slight tremble, but it wasn’t of fear. Her body was surging with a rising tense energy to leave the room and search for Daryl.

“Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta,” Edwards answered her. 

“How did I get here?” Beth followed. 

Her eyes met with the still eyes of the officer when she answered her. “My officers found you on the side of the road surrounded by rotters.”

Her gaze bounced back to the doctor’s response. “Your wrist was fractured and you sustained a superficial head wound. Can you remember your name?”

“Beth,” she breathed out. She took a breath, the two strange set of eyes weighing on her. Her gaze flitted between theirs, searching for the answer to her next question. “The man I was with,” her voice trembled, hope lying beneath her voice, “is he here, too?” If Daryl was there, she would feel more at ease, but Lerner’s response wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

“You were alone.” Dawn stopped, her eyes softening, more forced than natural. “If we hadn’t found you, you’d be one of them right now,” she snapped her head to the side. A hard look replaced the false comfort. “So you owe us,” she said.

Beth stared at her. Beth could tell she wasn’t a survivor, neither of them were, not like herself. The woman’s gaze held no suffering, no terror of what the world beyond has done. She was willing to make noise to put down an unarmed person. She didn’t take the precaution of cuffing or restraining her onto the bed. 

Beth’s brows drew together in a pensive and frustrated frown. This woman thought her weak with that stare. Beth knew she was strong. The new world made her strong. Her family made her strong.  _ He  _ made her strong. At the thought of Daryl, her heart gave a dry beat. He wasn’t there. And he didn’t know where she was. Before she could demand to be taken back to the funeral house the doctor spoke up.

“One of the wards here says he knows you.” At Beth’s eyes widening at that, he shook his head. “This man has been here for a weak, longer than you have been here, so it’s not the man you were with.” At the drop of Beth’s shoulders he apologized with a sincere tone and understanding eyes. Dawn’s gaze never left hers at the interaction.

Lerner took a deep breath before sighing, seeming to prepare herself for her next words. “Let them in, Edwards,” she spoke. She stepped back, eyes still on Beth as Doctor Edwards moved to open the door, allowing a familiar face to enter, Beth’s heart stopping only to beat faster.

The burn of tears rose to her eyes, yet she did not shed them. Her knees grew weak as she breathed out their names, a wavering smile beginning to brighten her face. “Tyreese.” She took a step forward. “Judith.” And another. They met at the middle, Beth standing face to face to Tyreese’s relieved smile and tearful eyes, a squirming Judith trying to turn her body to face her. 

With one unoccupied arm, Tyreese wrapped it around Beth’s form, bringing her to his chest as she wrapped an arm around him as her other hand came to the back of Judith’s head. The baby girl looked at Beth and recognized her after a second, her arms waving at Beth in the familiar way she has come to know that she wanted to be held. Tyreese shifted, moving little Judith into Beth’s arms, an unrestrained large smile lighting her face as Judith’s happy gurgles filled the air. She found her family. Perhaps not all of them, but she found them. A small shadow settled in a corner of her mind.  _ If only Daryl was there. _


	3. We Can't Stay Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth makes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place in season 5 episode 4, Slabtown. I didn't write the entire episode on here because that's just a waste of time since everything is canon for the story besides these few but major parts that lead up to our heroine's escape.
> 
> Despite having the story and chapter's planned, it still takes a while to write while juggling my studies, papers due, and projects. Oof. I'm just lucky that I don't fail my essays. Even when I don't know if what I wrote was what was needed for the assignment. I just . . . end up with a good grade. Not complaining tho.

They sat on her hospital bed, Tyreese and Beth turning their bodies in order to look at each other comfortably, Judith asleep in Beth’s arms. Despite being told by Edwards to rest, Beth stubbornly rejected his instruction. Besides, she has gone through worse.

“I can’t believe you ended up here,” Beth spoke, her voice soft as to not disturb the sleeping baby. She saw a flash of sadness cross his gentle dark eyes. “What’s the matter?”

Tyreese sighed, eyes cast down to the bedding and shoulders slouching low. He looked tired. Beth leaned her head down, catching his eye and laying a comforting hand on his elbow. It was all the encouragement he needed, though his voice still came out soft, a certain emotion taking hold of his voice that Beth could not grasp. “I was with the girls,” he breathed out. At Beth’s gentle support, he supplied, speaking slowly. “Lizzy and Mika got Judith and I left with them after the bus left.” He paused, seeming to collect himself. Beth listened as he told his story. About the girls, Carol, Terminus. 

Beth’s eyes widened. She put her hand over her mouth, muffling her gasp. “Oh, no,” she breathed out shakily. She leaned forward. “It can’t be . . . It was- . . . what happened . . . was it really . . . ?” she trailed off.

Tyreese nodded, brows downcast, casting gloomy shadows over his eyes. “Yeah,” he nodded. “Lizzy told me herself when I asked.” He took a long, deep breath. “I . . . I never thought something like that could happen. Not from our own. Not the dead rabbit or the mice at the fence or Mika-ah” His voice broke, tears in his voice as he angled his head back, blinking away the wetness forming at his eyes. 

Beth’s heart broke, shocked at what she heard. She held Judith closer. She was barely a year old and she could have died by someone they thought they trusted. But Lizzy  _ was  _ family. She was  _ still  _ family. They still cared for her and that will not change. If only they had seen the signs sooner. No.  _ Carl  _ had seen the signs. She did, too. But she had still brushed it off, thinking it was nothing dangerous to Lizzy’s own safety and the ones around her. She heard Tyreese’s words through a waterfall of rushing thoughts, seeing everything he told her in her mind. 

“After we buried the girls, we just kept going on the tracks,” Tyreese continued, wet tracks on his cheeks. His eyes stared at his palms as they kept sliding against each other, fingers clasping and unclasping. “But a large herd came and Carol and I got separated. I just kept going through the woods, the herd pushing me back farther, until I was close to running low on Judith’s things. So I went to the nearest town I could remember from the runs and tried to scavenge what I could before going back to the tracks. By the time I got to Terminus, the place was burned down to the ground and walkers were all over the place.” He looked up at Beth. “I don’t know if the place was like that in the first place or after Carol had gotten there, or  _ if  _ she got there, but I didn’t see any sign of her.” He looked at the back of Judith’s head, the baby still blissfully unaware of the terrors retold while she slept. “It was just me, then. I wanted to keep Judith safe, so I went on the road again, wanted to go back to the town and stay a while until finding a safer place.” Tyreese looked up into Beth’s eyes. The tears had long stopped pouring and instead left dry trails. “I kept going until I heard a car coming by fast. By the time I turned around to check on them before running for the woods, the officers came out. I didn’t wanna risk Judith so I put down my knife, even with the guns on my face. Don’t know what they would’a done if I hadn’t had Judith with me. They asked about my group and if I was alone. I told them that the camp just got overrun and they told me about Grady.” His eyes dropped back to Judith, a soft caring look in his eyes. “I wanted to do what was best for Judith so I went with them.” He looked back up at Beth, an inquisitive and worried look in his eyes. “A week later I see them bring you in.”

Beth nodded, acknowledging his side of events.

A moment of silence passed before Tyreese asked, “Did . . . did you see any of the others?” 

He looked at her with hope in his eyes. Beth knew what he truly wanted to ask and answered, “No. I didn’t see Sasha or the others.” She saw his shoulders slump and the hope fall from his eyes. “I left with Daryl.” At that, Tyreese’s expression garnered one of surprise as his brows quirked upwards. Beth smiled softly, lips closed. “Yeah, what are the chances.” Her smile spread a little more, lips parting to show her teeth. “You should have seen him. He was like a one man army. He took out the tank all by himself.” A fond look crossed her face, one that Tyreese did not miss. She looked down, softness in her face as she shifted Judith's head to her neck as it slipped from her shoulder. "It wasn't always good in the beginning, not after being separated and alone from the rest. We tried to follow the tracks we found," at this, a sad look crossed her face. "We found the remains of some people, with Luke's little shoe." Her voice trembled at the end, remembering the event that crushed her spirits. She took a moment to collect herself before taking a breath and looking at Tyreese's patient eyes. "He's teaching me how to track, how to hunt, and how to use the crossbow." She was smiling now, causing a smile of Tyreese's own to appear. "I'm real good at it now. But I do need his help in setting the crossbow. The tension is really strong." Confidence shined in her eyes. "But I'll get there, you'll see. I'm stronger now."

Tyreese nodded at the girl that became a woman in this terror filled world. "You are, Beth. You are."

Beth looked around the room, smile dropping when refacing with her reality. "That woman," she spoke slowly, Tyreese's attention solely on her, "Dawn, she’s the leader here?" 

It was more of a statement than a question, yet Tyreese answered her all the same. "Yeah." He shifted in his seat, sitting straighter and more to the center of the bed. "Heard there was someone before but he didn't end up doing so well in the end. Also heard that she was the one who put him down. So she took up that position in the guy's place."

Tyreese noted how Beth's eyes, though reflective of the light, seemed to turn hard, a mark of a survivor. "She takes people and brings them here, right?" Before Tyreese could answer, Beth continued. "The doctor said I got a 'superficial head wound' when I was brought here. Daryl and I stayed at a funeral home, but it got overrun. He said to meet him at the road. I got there and had to fight off the walkers that came to me. And then I felt something hit the back of my head and then woke up here." Blue fire ignited in her eyes. Fury and something wild swirled in them. "She takes people no matter who they are, doesn't she? And then claims to 'save' them just so they can owe her?" Her voice was rising. She had to keep it down. Until she knew everything here and had a plan to escape with Tyreese and Judith, she had to keep her head down.

Tyreese said nothing as his eyes stared back at hers, no contrary fact nor opinion.

So, she was right. Beth scoffed. Judith began to struggle, waking up and moving her limbs about, head leaning back to which Beth held her head. At Tyreese's open arms, she handed the now whining baby to him. She stood and paced the room, Tyreese's eyes following her as he bounced Judith in his arms.

_ Dawn Lerner is weak _ , Beth thought to herself.  _ I'm not weak, not anymore. I don't owe her anything. She should owe  _ me _ . They took me from Daryl and brought me against my will. I have to get us out of here. I have to go back. I'll track him if I have to.  _

Beth stopped and nodded at herself, mind made up. She turned to Tyreese's curious eyes. "We can't stay here," she said simply. "We have to go back to our family. I know where Daryl and I stayed. I can track him from there if he isn’t there."

Tyreese shook his head. "We can't just go out into the city. What about Judith? If the dead hear her we're dead. Besides," he paused, seeming to measure his next words, "I think it's safer here for her. Don't you think?"

Beth shook her head gently. "No, it's not. We don't know these people. And I don't like the feel of it. Especially Dawn. Our family is out there. We have to at least try." Beth looked down. "I told him I wasn't going to leave him. And I'm not gonna leave him." She looked up. "I'll find a way to get out. Just leave it to me, okay?" 

Tyreese said nothing. He felt tired again. He held Judith closer. He just wanted the little girl, and now Beth, to be safe.

“It’s not as bad as it looks.” Noah grabs her wrist, stopping her from further examining his black eye. “I’m okay,” he insists. Beth drops her hand as he tells her to watch, flicking his temple with a small smile. “Painkillers. It barely hurts.”

Beth takes a step back, staring at his wound before looking back at his eyes. It’s not as bad as she has seen some of her family members obtain, but that didn’t stop her from worrying if there was something wrong with the wound. In this world, you couldn’t afford to overlook your injuries. 

Noah shifted his weight to his right leg. “Dawn needed Trevitt for something,” he told her. “That’s what that was about. Screwed up thing is,” he paused, “she’s trapped, too.”

Beth gives a small shake of her head. “We're not trapped. I’m going with you.”

Noah smiled at her, a weight on his shoulders seeming to lift at the prospect of not having to go through the rotter-filled city alone.

“And I'm taking Tyreese and Judith with me.”

His smile dropped as he stared at her with wide eyes in disbelief. “What?” he whispered. He held his palms up to her, cutting her off. “Beth, I’m cool with Tyreese coming but a baby is just . . . I know you love her-and she means a lot to you-but . . .” He shakes his head, the situation turning too fast for him. “She’s going to attract attention! Either Dawn finds out or we get eaten by rotters. I can’t put my life on that,” he finished, hands dropping to his side.

The corner of Beth’s lip tugged back, teeth softly chewing on the meat inside her mouth. “I know that. But I’ve taken care of Judith since she was a baby. She doesn’t wake up from people talking. As long as we don’t make any loud noises, we can find a place to lay low until we come up with a way to get out of the city.” She watched the conflict in his eyes and stepped forward, placing her hand on his shoulder to get his eyes to focus on her. “I know that it’s a lot to ask for. But I’m not leaving her behind. Tyreese and Judith are part of my family. I can’t leave them here,” she shook her head, gesturing at the room with her other hand, “not in a place like this. Please.”

Noah took a deep breath, the blonde girl’s piercing blue eyes filling him with an emotion he couldn't seem to put a name to. It made him believe that they were going to make it out, that much he knew. He took a deep breath and sighed, nodding his head at her. “Basement's the fastest way out,” he informed. “Any noise,” he looked at her pointedly, “and we got rotters.”

“So we won't make noise.”

The slight smile she gave him with shining, large blue eyes made heat rise to his cheeks. He smiled back at her. “I can keep an eye on Dawn. She keeps a spare key to the elevator banks somewhere in her office. Think you can find it?”

Beth nodded. “Yeah.”

With a click of the door behind her, Beth leaned her head back and closed her eyes, breathing deeply to regain her breath, the familiar weight of a gun and the key in her hands grounding her. She shivered at the memory of Gorman’s hands on her. She wasn’t naive. And based on what Joan had implied and her wish for death over this place, Beth knew what would have happened to her. What Dawn would have  _ let  _ happen to her. 

They couldn’t stay there. It wasn’t an option then and it sure as hell wasn’t an option now. This hospital held lies and prying, shameless, unwanted hands. It wasn’t secure. Perhaps it was from the walkers, since none had come up here according to what she has heard, but it wasn’t secure from the threat inside.

They weren’t safe. Not her. Not Tyreese. Not innocent little Judith.

With a last shaking breath, Beth pushed away from the office door, noticing how it was quiet except for the rip of meat from the body. A glance around the halls secured her safety in this place and she set to the next part of the plan.

On her way, she caught Dawn, telling her that Joan had wanted to speak with her, holding her tongue on adding that she had gone in her office, wanting her to search for them first before checking the office. They needed all the time they could get. Her lips almost twitch up at Dawn’s quick departure. Beth follows her with her eye and catches Tyreese’s figure holding Judith. She meets his questioning eyes and gives a short sharp nod and a flick of the head towards the direction of the elevators. Tyreese nods as Beth passes by him, one last thing to do before they escape.

As expected, Doctor Edwards had headed back to his office, alone. Beth knocked and entered when he called for whoever to come in. Edwards gave an empty smile in her direction, leaning back in his chair with papers in his hands. At the click of the door locking, his smile faded, finally feeling the tension the blond girl had around her.

Beth cut him off before he could say anything when his mouth opened. “I’m getting out of here. Right now,” she paused, thinking over her next words. “If you want to come, you can. But you’d have to follow what I say.”

Edwards stared at her with wide eyes, fear and regret flickering through. It took him no longer than a second to reply, not surprising Beth in the least. “I can’t. I . . .,” he stood, putting down his papers and walking around his desk to lean back against it. He gestured around him. “This place, I know, trust me I know, it’s not something you want, but it’s the only safe place compared to what’s out there.” He took in a deep breath and sighed, feeling nervous at Beth’s blank face and unblinking, steely eyes. “They are officers with guns and cars. Honestly,” he said exasperated, “how can you even think you can make it past even  _ one  _ block?”

Beth blinked at him, slowly, watching the man shift on the balls of his feet. “Because I’m a survivor. I’m strong. I’ve gone through worse.” At the doctor’s disbelief, she added, “When I was with my group, back when this was only a few weeks after starting, we lived on the road. Not all of us knew how to fight, we didn’t have the experience yet. Heck, we had one kid and a pregnant lady. But we made it to a safe place in time for the birth.” She continued, remembering all of her family’s faces, a warm feeling filling her inside and out. “We were strangers who became family. We were strong. We  _ made  _ each other strong.”

A beat of silence passed between them, then two.

The doctor’s shoulders slumped. “Still doesn’t mean you can make it through the city by yourself and on foot.” A thought hit him, causing him to stand straighter and look at her as if she had gone mad. “You’re not taking the baby with you now, are you?” At her silence he took a step forward, gesturing wildly through his words. “That’s suicide! That poor baby,” he shook his head. “She deserves to live! She can be safe here! Hell, it’s a hospital with officers and a doctor! She’ll be safe and healthy.”

Beth shook her head slowly at him. “You’re wrong. This place isn’t safe. No place is safe.” Edwards scoffed. Beth pinned him down with her eyes. “But she has a family. A father and a brother who are probably still looking for her. She can’t stay here. This is neither living nor surviving. It’s just a lie!” She stepped forward, eyes alit with fire. “If you’re not coming, you’re going to help me. I want my weapons and knife. Tyreese’s too.”

Edwards shook his head. “What’s gonna make me help you anyways? Dawn won’t allow this and if she finds out I helped you I’m going to be-” He cuts himself off with a fearful gasp and lurches back when meeting the barrel of her gun. “H-how, w-where d-did you-?”

“You’re a coward, Edwards.” She pulled off the safety, the doctor realizing how serious she is. “Either help me get my weapons or get a bullet to the head. Your choice.” As an afterthought, she added, “You have five seconds.”

She watched him cower under the threat of her gun, flinching when Beth counted down the numbers as droplets of sweat formed on his forehead. 

“Three, two, on-”

“Alright,” he cut her off in desperation, hands raised in surrender. “Alright. You win,” he whispered, defeated. “I have an idea where Dawn may have put your things.” His eyes flicked between the barrel of the gun and her eyes. “It should be in the supply room. I, I have a key.” Without looking at the desk, his hand shifted around through the papers until grasping the copy of the key he had, holding it up to her and moving his hand slowly in her direction, cautious.

Beth shook her head. “You’re gonna take me there, now. I don’t wanna stay longer than I need to.” Edwards nodded his head quickly. Beth walked backwards to the door and unlocked it, gesturing with her gun for him to go first. “Take me there, quickly. And don’t try anything.”

After the doctor got out the door, Beth put her gun on the waistband of her back, covering it with the shirt as she followed the doctor down the hall.

It took no longer than five minutes before Beth circled back to the elevator, Noah and Tyreese jumping at the doors opening in alarm and fright. She hadn’t meant to take long, but she knew their time was being cut short having noticed Dawn finally head to her office. She placed her new backpack down, courtesy of the good doctor and the supply room. Noah stepped up in front of her, shocked when Beth opened the bag, catching water bottles, a few bags of medicine and cans of food inside. Beth looked up at them as she pulled the rifle from her shoulder. “I got the doctor to cooperate,” she supplied. “Gave me some medicine for Judith and the bag.” She handed the rifle and gun to Noah. “I took the liberty of taking water and food for the trip. They brought this on themselves.”

Noah nodded and breathed out an “okay” as he stepped back to unlock the elevator. Beth pulled out the second pistol from her bag and handed it to Tyreese. With a nod, Tyreese stepped to help Noah, handing Beth the sleeping Judith, the baby wrapped up in blankets. Beth hoped they would at least make it out to the street before Dawn and her officers notice. She hoped Judith would stay quiet long enough before going down the elevator.

Noah and Tyreese were just setting up the makeshift rope made from blankets, Beth’s voice dying in her throat as they all simultaneously winced in fear at the sound of screams.


	4. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth, Tyreese and Noah race towards their escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This had been written a while ago but had needed editing. Now it's edited and ready to be read!

Beth held Judith closer to her chest, thanking whoever is watching over them that although Judith awoke from the shot, she had calmed down easily with Beth’s hushing and rocking.

“Uhh, who goes first?” Noah asked hurriedly from his place at the edge of the floor, staring down the elevator shaft. 

Beth walked up to Tyreese, handing him the backpack and then Judith, helping him with the makeshift sling made from the blankets. “I’ll go first,” she said. “I’ll cover for you both down there.” She looked at Tyreese. “Then you go.” She looked back at Noah, who looked about to protest. “Dawn thinks you’re a good worker. If anything happens, just say you were trying to tell us not to go.”  _ She won’t kill you _ , was unsaid yet present in her voice.

She got to the edge, Noah moving to the side to let her pass. He helped her get down on the rope and Beth descended with no difficulties, standing at the edge of the broken ceiling leading to the basement. The sight and decaying smell of the large pile of corpses stung her eyes and caused her stomach to churn unsettled. She breathed in, holding back the cough to reject the stench and looked up at Noah’s worried face. She nodded to her safety and watched as Noah helped Tyreese down the rope as well, assuring that Judith remained secure in her sling with minor adjustments. She could hear the faint yelling coming from the officers, muffled by the distance.

Tyreese got to the other side of the crumbled ledge, leaving the cloth rope free for Noah to use, Judith being cradled tightly to his body as he leaned his back against the wall, the blanket completely covering her head and, hopefully, her sense of smell.

They watched as Noah descended, the yelling grew louder and more assertive. Noah had gotten more than halfway down when a walker grasped at him through a gap from an elevator door, startling him to lose his grip and fall the rest of the way with a shout, directly on top of the corpses. The sickening sound of the breaking of bones startling Beth and Tyreese.

"Noah!" Beth jumped down, shivering at the awful crunch of bones under her feet. She helped Noah regain his balance. She heard the snarls and groans of walkers in the basement, but noticed none seemed to be heading in their direction as of yet.

Beth found Tyreese's eyes in the little light and waved him down, the large man scuffling to the edge to hop down on a higher elevation of bodies. They stilled at hearing Judith's whine before sighing in relief as she shifted once before falling silent.

"Are you ok?" Beth asked Noah, hands holding his arm as she helped him down the corpses, careful not to further slip or trip on a discarded limb. Tyreese followed where she stepped, holding Judith close, pistol clenched in a hand.

Noah had a slight tremble to his frame, reminding Beth of a shaking leaf. He gasped, wincing as he took a step forward. "I think I hurt my knee." He reached down to touch the aching knee, flinching when coming into contact. He glanced at Beth with a half pained smile. "Hopefully the painkillers start kicking in soon," he joked.

Beth shook her head with a reassuring smile, turning to Tyreese as he stepped down the rest of the way. She caught his arm when he stumbled, both freezing at Judith's shift. 

The young blond turned at the heavy thump and the startled yell followed by a snarl. She rushed forward, stepping past Noah and drawing her knife from her side, sinking it into the walker's head. Another walker stumbled towards her from the short hall, it's yellowed teeth snapping at her. She shoved her hand at it's collarbone and sunk the knife through its chin, the body slumping. Her eyes widened at the stumbling corpses heading in their direction. From the elevator, she heard the frantic voices of the officers and pulled out her gun. From the corner of her eye, she watched the others pull out their weapons, albeit Noah was still shaking. "I'll cover you! Just find the exit and I'll follow," Beth called back to them, stabbing the nearest walker and shooting another.

Tyreese pulled through, shooting the walkers one by one as they tried to lunge for him. Noah shot the ones getting close from the other side with his rifle, limping behind him, Beth sticking to the back and covering them. Judith began to wail at the loud sounds.

The scent of death clogged Beth's nose in every way she turned. She could feel the slick blood that splattered on her as she fought back, gun at one hand and knife in the other. There were a lot of them, but with the fallen corpses, more were slowed down enough as they kept tripping, giving the living the chance to maneuver around them and finally get to the doors. 

With a shoulder thrown against the stuck door, Tyreese stumbles out, cradling the crying Judith in his arm as he shot down the closest walkers on the open field. Noah and Beth followed as he ran through the parking lot, passing cars with white crosses and striking down the walkers in their path. They get to the courtyard, military tents lined up on the sides leading to their escape. 

"Go to the exit! I'll get the rear." Beth calls to her companions. From the corner of her eye, she sees Tyreese nod and lead the way to the fence, knocking away the stumbling walkers as Noah stayed at his heel, both aiming at the dead military personnel that emerged from the tents. 

Beth turns around and sinks her knife into the head of a walker and pushed back another one that managed to get too close and grasp her arms. Without a second thought, she kicked its chest and brought down her heel down repeatedly on its skull, breaking the bone and smashing the brain. She turned again and knifed the next walker, now able to run a cleared path to the fence, Noah now on the other side holding Judith as Tyreese began to go through the gap in the fence.

Suddenly, a hard body crashes against her back, causing her to fall forward with a startled yelp, chin hitting hard on the pavement, teeth clunking loud together in her mouth. Fear grasped its cold fingers around her heart, subsidding momentarily at the living hands working to tie them together behind her back. She struggles hard, trying to get her hands free and reach for her fallen knife just a foot from her head. It's a slow losing battle, her strength fading the more she struggled. She saw a shadow pass and the weight on her back get knocked away. Hands grasped her arm and pulled her up, Beth seeing Tyreese try to pull her away before another officer slammed against him, bringing them both down.

As the officer tried to rangle Tyreese, Beth crawled back towards her knife, grasping the handle and lunging for the officer on top of Tyreese. Before she could stab the man's head, her hand was pulled back and she was thrown against the pavement, the other officer now trying to pry away the knife. She swung back her clenched fist and punched the man square in the jaw, hard enough to make him lose his grip on her. Beth swung down her knife at his thigh, a cry leaving his lips before getting punched again.

Before she could swing her knife at his temple, another hand pulled back her hair,  _ hard _ . Beth cried out as she was dragged away, the pain in her scalp blinding. Another hand grips her wrist and twists it painfully, causing her to drop her knife. The officer brings her down, pinning her back under his weight as he grapples with her struggling hands. Beth tries to shake him off but he still won't budge. She looks up and sees Tyreese locked between the other two officers that have begun to beat him. Behind the fence, a frightened Noah stares back at her as the frantic screams of Judith continue.

Her muscles are screaming from the struggle, her chin is aching, and her chest is throbbing, but it does not compare to the cold stream of fear and hopelessness at having failed her family and Noah. 

_ Daryl _ , she found herself thinking,  _ what do I do? _

Beth's lips trembled. This was it. They were caught and she was never going to see him again.

_ I'm not gonna leave you! _

Beth gasped. No, she couldn't let herself be taken again. What's more, she couldn't let Judith be taken back to white halls of false security and lies. She couldn't stop fighting, she wouldn't! She was strong and she wanted to show him. Show Maggie. And Carl. And Rick and everyone else. She was still alive and she was going to fight dammit.

With a surge of adrenaline, Beth gritted her teeth and twisted her wrist from the officers grasp until he lost his grip. She brought her free arm close before throwing it back at her assailant, hitting an arm with her elbow. She heard the cry of pain and twisted her other wrist free, rocking her body from side to side to buck the man off. He pushed down on her shoulders, getting close chest to back as he brought his mouth close to her ear and ordered her to stop and that they didn't want to hurt her.

She brought her hand back and grasped at the holster on the man's side, quickly drawing the gun out before he realized her ploy. Beth brought her gun beside her head where the hot breaths came and shot, the sound to close to her ear causing it to ring. It was enough to bring the attention of the other two officers as they watched her struggle to throw of the dead officer.

Once she was freed, she rose up, grasping her discarded knife in her other hand before being tugged back again by her hair, her left hand being struck with the back of the officers gun, hers dropping to the floor with a clang. Pain raced up her arm.

"Stop! That's enough," the officer behind her yelled. "We saved you and you owe us!"

Beth's hair was tugged hard from side to side, the officer trying to disorient her as a pounding headache emerged. Through gritted teeth and furious eyes, Beth grumbled "screw you." In the blink of an eye, her knife sliced through the thin blond strands, cutting her loose. With the momentum of the hard tug she had been given and her sudden release, Beth spun and sliced her knife through the stunned officers throat, the body dropping to its knees and falling to its side.

A ringing shot and searing pain at her side and shoulder reminded her of the other remaining officer. Beth ducked and dove for cover behind the dead body, the thump of bullets felt against her body, thankful her smaller frame was completely covered. She eyed the gun a few feet behind her and didn't wait long before the empty clicks of the officer’s gun greeted her ears. She rolled back, hand landing on the handle. With a perfect shot, the officer dropped, a stream of blood flowing freely from the center of his forehead. 

A yell from the fence brought her attention quickly to the two walkers stumbling towards Noah. They went down after two shots from Beth. She stumbled towards Tyreese, the man's face littered with flowering bruises as he sat up with a groan, shoving the dead officer off. Beth looked around her quickly and noted the walkers from the basement now a few meters away. Her eyes widened and she helped Tyreese to his feet. "We gotta go," she called out above the growing sounds of the walkers. Tyreese glanced behind her and also noticed the walkers, running beside her a few feet before stopping beside Beth when she cried out.

The blood was warm as it poured from her side. Beth groaned and sent a thankful look at Tyreese as he brought her arm around his neck and helped her jog to the fence.

With a rattle of the fence and two bodies slipping through, the small group was reunited and they ran towards the empty street, circling around buildings and avoiding other herds, Judith’s wails alerting their presence in every turn. 

**Author's Note:**

> I've been thinking about this ship since I finsihed binge watching the entire nine seasons a few weeks ago. I kept getting ideas and this one ended up fledging more than the others. 
> 
> All the chapters have their notes on what is foing to happen in them but only half of the chapters have their notes thickened out with more description.
> 
> I really like this story and hope to finish it soon (hopefully before the year ends).


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